Head Above Water (album)
| recorded = | studio = | genre = Pop rock | length = 41:47 | label = BMG | producer = * Avril Lavigne * Stephan Moccio * Johan Carlsson * Jon Levine * JR Rotem * Mitch Allan * Chris Baseford | prev_title = Avril Lavigne | prev_year = 2013 | next_title = | next_year = | misc = }} Head Above Water is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne. It was released on February 15, 2019, through BMG Rights Management. It is Lavigne's first studio release since her self-titled fifth studio album (2013), marking the longest gap between two of her studio albums. She assumed an integral role in the album's production and collaborated with several producers including Chad Kroeger, Stephan Moccio, Chris Baseford, Johan Carlsson, Lauren Christy from The Matrix, Ryan Cabrera, Travis Clark of We the Kings, Bonnie McKee, JR Rotem and Mitch Allan among others. The album draws inspiration from Lavigne's battle with Lyme disease, with her describing the album as an "emotional journey". The song "Head Above Water" was released as the lead single from the album in September 2018, followed by "Tell Me It's Over" as the second single in December, "Dumb Blonde" as the third single the week of the album's release, a collaboration with rapper Nicki Minaj and "I Fell in Love with the Devil" as the fourth single in June. The album became her sixth consecutive album to chart in the top five of Lavigne's home country, Canada. On June 24, Lavigne announced that she will embark on a concert tour, the Head Above Water Tour in support of the record. This marks her first tour in nearly 5 years following The Avril Lavigne Tour. Background and development In December 2014, Lavigne was diagnosed with Lyme disease. According to her, she "sat behind a piano and sang past the pain". The songs on the album are inspired by her battle with Lyme disease. On December 25, 2016, Lavigne announced that she would release the album in 2017. On March 1, 2017, Lavigne announced that she had signed with BMG Rights Management and promised to release the album in 2017. On January 21, 2018, Lavigne responded to a fan on Twitter about the album, saying: "album is personal, dear, intimate, dramatic, raw, powerful, strong and unexpected. This record is a true emotional journey." On February 7, 2018, Lavigne posted on Twitter about the album, saying: "I've started mixing my album and all of the pieces are finally coming together. These songs are so close to my heart. Wish me luck while I throw every last drop of me into these final stages." In May, Lavigne finished recording the album, though she was reported to have worked with songwriter Bonnie McKee afterwards. On July 7, 2018, Lavigne stated that the album cover was being shot that week. On August 18, 2018, Lavigne posted on her social media: "Exciting things coming" and "prepping for my video shoot". On September 6, 2018, Lavigne posted a letter to her fans on her official website, revealing she wrote and recorded most of the album on her couch due to Lyme disease. She also stated that "Head Above Water" was the first song she wrote for the album. To Lavigne, recording this album was a "victorious moment" and a "huge accomplishment", describing it as "a very strong, triumphant, powerful and true record to me and my experiences over the last few years". On December 7, the singer revealed that the name of the album as Head Above Water and the tracklist. Along with revealing the album title, Lavigne also unveiled the cover artwork. The front cover shows her nude sitting in a pool of water holding an acoustic guitar close to her body. Singles The song "Head Above Water" serves as the album's lead single. It was released on September 19, 2018, and impacted hot adult contemporary radio and Christian radio on October 8, 2018. The song was described as "a powerful, spiritual epiphany detailing the Canadian singer's journey through her battle with Lyme disease." "Tell Me It's Over" was announced as the second single from the album on December 5, 2018, and was released the following December 12, with the album's pre-order. "Dumb Blonde" was released as the third single from the album on February 12, 2019. The song features rapper Nicki Minaj. "I Fell in Love with the Devil" was announced as the fourth single from the album on June 7, 2019. It was released as the album's fourth single on June 28, 2019. Critical reception | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|date=|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=February 16, 2019}} | rev2 = Clash | rev2score = 7/10 | rev3 = Exclaim! | rev3score = 6/10 | rev4 = The Guardian | rev4score = Alexis Petridis's album of the week|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=February 14, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 16, 2019|issn=0261-3077}} | rev5 = Idolator | rev5score = 3.5/5 | rev6 = The Independent | rev6score = | rev7 = NME | rev7score = | rev8 = Punknews | rev8score = | rev9 = Pitchfork | rev9score = 5.5/10 | rev10 = Rolling Stone | rev10score = }} Head Above Water received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 55 based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Commercial performance In the United States the album debuted at number 13 on Billboard 200, selling 28,000 units on its first week, making it Lavigne's first album to not enter the top ten on the first-week of release. It also became the lowest entry on the chart, comparing to the previous one, Avril Lavigne (2013) that sold 44,000 copies. On the Billboard Independent Albums, the album peaked at number one. In the United Kingdom the album debuted and peaked at number 10 with 5,766 units sold. It also went straight to number one on the UK Independent Albums. In Germany, the album debuted at number three, making it her best performance on the chart since The Best Damn Thing (2007). Overall, the album reached top 10 positions in 10 countries. In Japan, the album sold 25,229 copies in its opening week, debuting at #7 on the oricon charts. The following week, another 9,500 copies were sold. As of June 2019 the album has sold over 60,000 copies in Japan. Track listing Credits adapted from Amazon and iTunes Store meta data. | extra1 = |Chad Kroeger |Chris Baseford }} | length1 = 3:40 | title2 = Birdie | writer2 = | extra2 = | length2 = 3:35 | title3 = I Fell in Love with the Devil | writer3 = Lavigne | extra3 = | length3 = 4:15 | title4 = Tell Me It's Over | writer4 = | extra4 = }} | length4 = 3:09 | title5 = Dumb Blonde | note5 = featuring Nicki Minaj | writer5 = | extra5 = |Baseford |Scott Robinson }} | length5 = 3:34 | title6 = It Was in Me | writer6 = | extra6 = }} | length6 = 3:43 | title7 = Souvenir | writer7 = | extra7 = | length7 = 2:57 | title8 = Crush | writer8 = | extra8 = }} | length8 = 3:33 | title9 = Goddess | writer9 = | extra9 = Carlsson | length9 = 3:41 | title10 = Bigger Wow | writer10 = | extra10 = | length10 = 2:55 | title11 = Love Me Insane | writer11 = | extra11 = | length11 = 3:00 | title12 = Warrior | writer12 = | extra12 = Lavigne | length12 = 3:45 }} | extra5 = |Baseford |Scott Robinson }} | length5 = 3:09 }} | title13 = Head Above Water | note13 = featuring Travis Clark from We the Kings | length13 = 3:40 | total_length = }} Notes * }} signifies an additional producer * }} signifies a vocal producer * "Dumb Blonde" does not feature Nicki Minaj on physical releases. Charts References Category:2019 albums Category:Avril Lavigne albums Category:BMG albums